The Morenci Area Schools Board of Education took the first step in pursuing a bond proposal at a special meeting Thursday when it approved an architect firm to guide the district in making upgrades to the school campus.

The board approved a recommendation to hire Kingscott Associates as the architect and design firm. Superintendent Mike Osborne said the next step will be to present a proposal to the state treasury department and schedule community meetings to inform the public on what is needed as the district explores the bond process.

“We are at a point where we have critical issues that need taken care of,” he said.

Projects being proposed include replacing the high school and elementary roofs, upgrading security systems, purchasing buses, upgrading technology and replacing interior and exterior bleachers.

Osborne said it is his goal to have the proposed bond be less than the $1.4 million bond passed in 2008, of which the district has $70,000 remaining that must be spent by June. He is proposing that the bond that could be put before voters in May would essentially be a five-year extension of the present bond, with no millage increase, he said.